The home has glorious canyon views which include a creek, a stone bridge and more than 40 mature oaks.

The home has glorious canyon views which include a creek, a stone bridge and more than 40 mature oaks.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Other angle of the kitchen. A dramatic built-in wine rack was custom built using steel plate and glass rods. it is particularly arresting at night when its back-lights penetrate the rods and illuminate the wine bottles. less

Other angle of the kitchen. A dramatic built-in wine rack was custom built using steel plate and glass rods. it is particularly arresting at night when its back-lights penetrate the rods and illuminate the wine ... more

Before the remodeling: A funky 1950s house with redwood siding and steel windows on half an acre of wooded land in the Middle Ridge neighborhood. Not very promisingly, the locals referred to it as "the tear-down." less

Before the remodeling: A funky 1950s house with redwood siding and steel windows on half an acre of wooded land in the Middle Ridge neighborhood. Not very promisingly, the locals referred to it as "the ... more

Photo: Cecilia Quezada

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Before: The house was small - about 1,000 square feet - and in poor shape: The decks were rotting, and water would stream down the inside of the windows when it rained. But the Quezadas were charmed.

Before: The house was small - about 1,000 square feet - and in poor shape: The decks were rotting, and water would stream down the inside of the windows when it rained. But the Quezadas were charmed.

Photo: Cecila Quesada

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When the Quesadas bought the house it was small -- about ,1000 square feet -- and in poor shape - the decks were rotting and water would stream down the inside of the windows when it rained -- but the Quesadas were charmed. less

When the Quesadas bought the house it was small -- about ,1000 square feet -- and in poor shape - the decks were rotting and water would stream down the inside of the windows when it rained -- but the Quesadas ... more

Photo: Kee Sites

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The home was completed in 2006 and featured in "Dream Homes of Northern California.

The home was completed in 2006 and featured in "Dream Homes of Northern California.

Photo: Payton Stiewe

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The fireplace is the same, although the pink-block chimney and surround have since been clad in sumptous Bordeaux-colored leather tiles.

The fireplace is the same, although the pink-block chimney and surround have since been clad in sumptous Bordeaux-colored leather tiles.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Alternative view of the living room.

Alternative view of the living room.

Photo: Kee Sites

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The dining room.

The dining room.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Kitchen

Kitchen

Photo: Kee Sites

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Materials used in the kitchen include antique-brushed black granite for the counter-tops--including on the 10-foot long island -- a steel tile backlash and more wood.

Materials used in the kitchen include antique-brushed black granite for the counter-tops--including on the 10-foot long island -- a steel tile backlash and more wood.

Photo: Kee Sites

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French doors lead from the kitchen/den addition to a sandstone slab patio with room for outdoor entertaining and distant views of the Marin Headlands.

French doors lead from the kitchen/den addition to a sandstone slab patio with room for outdoor entertaining and distant views of the Marin Headlands.

Photo: Kee Sites

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French doors leading into the kitchen. To the right: Detail of the wall.

French doors leading into the kitchen. To the right: Detail of the wall.

Photo: Kee Sites

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To the right: An open staircase made of reclaimed timber leads down to the home's lower sleeping levels.

To the right: An open staircase made of reclaimed timber leads down to the home's lower sleeping levels.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Powder room.

Powder room.

Photo: Kee Sites

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The main bathroom features a Philippe-Starck-designed freestanding tub and slate floors.

The main bathroom features a Philippe-Starck-designed freestanding tub and slate floors.

Photo: Kee Sites

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In the master bedroom a lacquer-red wall provides definition behind the bed. The board-form concrete an an adjacent wall has deliberately been left exposed after the couple decided they liked the contrasting texture. less

In the master bedroom a lacquer-red wall provides definition behind the bed. The board-form concrete an an adjacent wall has deliberately been left exposed after the couple decided they liked the contrasting ... more

Photo: Kee Sites

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The master suite was sited to be able to drink in the lush greenery outside and includes French doors leading out onto the garden terrace.

The master suite was sited to be able to drink in the lush greenery outside and includes French doors leading out onto the garden terrace.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Master bathroom with a granite and etched-glass double shower.

Master bathroom with a granite and etched-glass double shower.

Photo: Kee Sites

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An open staircase made of reclaimed timber leads down to the home's lower sleeping levels.

An open staircase made of reclaimed timber leads down to the home's lower sleeping levels.

Photo: Payton Stiewe

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One of the four bedrooms on the lower level.

One of the four bedrooms on the lower level.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Details from one of the bathrooms.

Details from one of the bathrooms.

Photo: Kee Sites

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The studio is reached across the home's entry terrace which comprises a breezeway topped with a white-glass canopy.

The studio is reached across the home's entry terrace which comprises a breezeway topped with a white-glass canopy.

Photo: Payton Stiewe

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The path between the main house and the studio.

The path between the main house and the studio.

Photo: Kee Sites

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A foyer with large glass pivot-doors lead to the lower terrace and separates the master suite from the rest of the house.

A foyer with large glass pivot-doors lead to the lower terrace and separates the master suite from the rest of the house.

Photo: Kee Sites

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The lower terrace.

The lower terrace.

Photo: Kee Sites

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Architects transform Mill Valley house

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Fred Quezada had an inkling that if his wife, Cecilia, visited Mill Valley, their life would change dramatically.

"He said to me, 'If you see how beautiful it is, you will want to move there,' " said Cecilia, recalling a time 14 years ago when the couple, who were living in Walnut Creek, were invited to dinner with friends in Marin County.

Fred was right.

The pair, who are both architects, quickly decided they wanted to live in one of the beautiful, leafy canyons that embrace Mill Valley, and set out to make a home there.

Their search for a property they could remodel led them to a funky 1950s house with redwood siding and steel windows on half an acre of wooded land in the Middle Ridge neighborhood. Not very promisingly, the locals referred to it as "the tear-down."

It was small - about 1,000 square feet - and in poor shape: The decks were rotting, and water would stream down the inside of the windows when it rained. But the Quezadas were charmed.

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"We spent three hours at the open house and talked with the owner, a respected geologist, about how we envisaged a renovation. We were determined to keep the essence of the original," Cecilia said.

This commitment probably swung the sale for them and, in 1995, the couple forsook their comfortable Walnut Creek condo to move in.

The far-reaching remodeling project was undertaken in three stages, with the first priority to make the house habitable. The layout was little altered and the fireplace was retained, although the pink-block chimney and surround have since been clad in sumptuous Bordeaux-colored leather tiles. The outsize floor-to-ceiling steel windows mirror those of the original house - and the new ones do not leak. Rather, they frame the home's glorious canyon views, which include a creek, a stone bridge and more than 40 mature oaks.

The second phase of the conversion in 1998 was prompted by a need for more space (the Quezadas now have two children) and involved adding bedrooms as well as a separate studio.

An open staircase made of reclaimed timber leads down to the home's lower sleeping level. The master suite was located to allow it to drink in the lush greenery outside and includes French doors leading out onto the garden terrace. There are his-and-her walk-in closets with custom-built cherry-wood cabinetry, and a lacquer-red wall provides definition behind the bed. The board-form concrete on an adjacent wall deliberately has been left exposed after the couple decided they liked the contrasting texture.

There's a spa tub and a granite and etched-glass double shower in the master bathroom, while the main bathroom features a Philippe Starck-designed freestanding tub and slate floors.

A foyer with large glass pivot-doors leads to the lower terrace and separates the master suite from the rest of the house.

The studio is reached across the entry terrace, which comprises a breezeway topped with a white-glass canopy. Designed to echo the architecture of the home, with identical redwood siding, steel windows and a gently sloping zinc-aluminum roof, the studio offers a full bathroom and sleeping loft, as well as open live/work space.

The final challenge for the owner-architects was designing a new kitchen. The diminutive galley-style kitchen that they had put up with for many years clearly had to go, but the couple wanted to retain the home's symmetry and were reluctant to bolt on an addition that would spoil the property's clean lines.

They opted for a combined kitchen and den housed under a ceiling of translucent panels. Combined with a bay window with a sitting shelf overlooking the canyon, this has allowed for maximum light. Materials used in the kitchen include antique-brushed black granite for the countertops - including on the 10-foot-long island - a steel tile backsplash and more wood. A dramatic built-in wine rack was custom built using steel plates and glass rods. It is particularly arresting at night, when its back-lights penetrate the rods and illuminate the wine bottles.

The den features recessed custom-glass shelving, a built-in flat-panel plasma television and floating cherry-wood cabinets. French doors lead from the kitchen/den addition to a sandstone slab patio with room for outdoor entertaining and distant views of the Marin Headlands.

The home was completed in 2006 and featured in "Dream Homes of Northern California," published the following year.

Cecilia says managing the remodel was always enjoyable, although the process was not without its tensions.

"When you have two married architects working on a project, the decision-making can be more difficult because you almost know too much," she says. "Once you have chosen one material over another, for instance, there's nobody else to blame if you later come to regret it."

Happily, there is nothing the Quezadas say they would have done differently. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the geologist who owned the original house was invited back to see the transformed home, and he loved it, too.

"He spent seven hours here, carefully scrutinizing everything we had done," says Cecilia. "We still come across some of his expansive rock collection dotted around the property - it's like a treasure hunt. It meant a lot to us that he was pleased with what he found."